There has been a lot of belly-aching about the non-competitiveness of the NBA, with the Golden State Warriors being far and away the league's best team. But that seemingly hasn't put a lid on fan interest. Nationally televised games are up 32% this season, and viewership is at the highest level since LeBron James' first season with the Miami Heat. Of course, it's also possible that the numbers would be even higher if there were teams that could threaten Golden State's supremacy. The NBA, though, never seems to lack storylines, so let's check out what's happening in the Association.

Spread Watch

Necessity is sometimes the mother of invention. Would Golden State have been so quick to realize the talent of Draymond Green had David Lee not gotten injured? Likewise, in Utah, it took an injury to star center Rudy Gobert for coach Quin Snyder to move to a spread offense. When Gobert was healthy, Snyder played him alongside Derrick Favors and had another non-shooter (Ricky Rubio) at the point. So with a dearth of shooting, the opposing defense could easily guard the paint. When Gobert went down, Snyder moved Favors to the center position, and inserted Jonas Jerebko as a stretch four. And the Jazz' offense went thru the roof. Gobert recently came back. But, in the 11 games that Gobert missed, Utah went 7-4 SU/ATS, including 5-0 SU/ATS in the last five games before he returned. And the Jazz outscored its foes by 19.85 ppg in those last five games. Since Gobert's return, the Jazz have gone 1-1 straight-up, but 2-0 ATS. And Utah's point spread win streak is now at seven games! Will it continue? I'm not overly-optimistic. Coach Snyder has returned to starting Gobert, Favors and Rubio together, which means the defenses can go back to clogging the paint. And the other issue is that, when one really scrutinizes Utah's schedule, it becomes obvious that the offensive success can be partially attributed to the opponents played. Indeed, in Utah's last 13 games, it only played two teams currently ranked among the Top 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency (76ers, Thunder). And in those two games against the 76ers and Thunder, the Jazz had their two worst offensive games throughout this 13-game stretch, and scored 86 and 94 points, respectively. In the 11 games vs. the teams that currently rank among the 15 worst defensive teams, the Jazz averaged 112.54 ppg. This week, Utah will face Houston at home, on Thursday, and Milwaukee on the road, on Saturday. Given that the Rockets currently rank 5th in adjusted defensive efficiency, don't be surprised if Utah's 7-game ATS win streak gets snapped by James Harden & Co.

Total Watch

The Washington Wizards have missed point guard John Wall, who is recovering from a knee injury, for the last six games, and seven of the last nine. Over this stretch Washington has gone 3-4 straight-up, and has also gone 5-2 'under' the total. For the season, the Wizards are 16-8 'under' the total, including 13-3 their last 16. This week, the Wizards will continue to play without their floor leader, and will take on the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, and the Los Angeles Clippers, on Saturday. I look for another relatively low-scoring game vs. the Suns, as 13 of the last 18 meetings between these two clubs have gone 'under' the total.

Injury Watch

The San Antonio Spurs have played the entire season minus their best player, Kawhi Leonard. Yet the Spurs are 16-8 straight-up, and 12-11-1 ATS. Last season, at this juncture, the Spurs were 19-5 straight-up, and 11-12-1 ATS. So, the fact that they are just three games off last year's pace has to be considered a huge victory for Gregg Popovich's crew. The good news is that Leonard should be back this week, as he's been engaged in 5-on-5 drills, which is the final stage of the Spurs' rehabilitation schedule. San Antonio has home dates on deck vs. Miami (Wednesday) and Boston (Friday), before traveling to Phoenix, on Saturday, to take on the Suns. Of these games, the match with the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics is the most interesting from a betting standpoint, given that Boston already blew out the Spurs earlier this year, 108-94, in Beantown. So, I look for the Spurs to avenge that defeat (with or without Leonard), as San Antonio is 40-26 ATS in the regular season when playing with revenge from a 14-point (or worse) defeat earlier in the year to its opponent.Schedule Watch

Earlier this season, the Dallas Mavericks handed the Milwaukee Bucks a 32-point defeat -- Milwaukee's worst loss of the past two seasons. But you know what they say about "Paybacks!" And I look for the Bucks to avenge that loss this upcoming Friday, in Milwaukee. And that's because .633 (or worse) NBA teams, playing with revenge from a 19-point (or worse) upset loss, have gone 86-47-3 ATS as favorites since 2000. Additionally, the Bucks are 11-4-1 ATS at home vs. Dallas since 2000. Take Milwaukee on Friday. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss any of my Hoops, Hockey and Football Winners here at Covers.com. Join for a week or month today to get all of my award-winning selections.

You’ll never guess which team in the NBA is10-0 ATS when coming off consecutive wins this season. With that and with the NBA taking a timeout for the All-Star break, there is no better time than the present to examine the condition of each team in the league at this stage of the season.From the surprise teams to the disappointments, the run to the 2018 playoffs is about to take off.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back to Austin, TX for the third time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 126: Cowboy vs. Medeiros. The 12 fight card is scheduled to kick off with preliminary action on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET. Prelims will continue on FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. and the main card will get going on the same channel at 9 p.m.

The All-Star Break is upon us, and the trade deadline last week certainly injected some drama into this season. The Cavaliers were the main culprit, as GM Koby Altman completely re-made the Cavs' roster. In the short term, at least, the moves have paid dividends. And Cleveland served notice, with its 121-99 blowout of Boston, that reports of its demise were premature. Let's take a look at this upcoming, abbreviated week.

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